Getting a good night’s sleep can be the difference between successfully negotiating a deal and setting good expectations, or failing to do any of that.

When we are sleep deprived, we don’t think clearly, and offen can’t find the right words.

The worst part is that like drunk people don’t know when they’re drunk, sleep deprived people don’t often notice how much their communication skills have declined as a result of not sleeping enough.

We all have a bad night here or there. You can’t avoid it entirely, but if you find that your day to day is not getting enough sleep, it’s time to re-evaluate.

That’s what I’ve been telling myself recently. Going without adequate sleep actually worked longer than I would have expected, but it didn’t work well, and eventually I crashed, hard.

It’s best to have a good sleep routine, but what if you didn’t sleep well before an important meeting?

Maybe you had to take care of a child during the night and you’re running low on steam. Maybe you just couldn’t get to sleep, try what you may.

What do you do?

Take a nap.

Ideally, less than 45-60 minutes maximum because beyond that you can get “sleep inertia” where you’ll actually feel worse coming out of a nap.

20 minutes might be optimal for brain recovery, but I’ve found that whatever I can get helps, even if it’s two minutes with my eyes closed in a chair.

It helps me be better able to put my thoughts together for the next conversation.

Do I like taking naps? No.

Do I often regret not taking one? Yes.

If you find yourself not communicating the way you’d like, try taking a nap. And fix your sleep schedule, if applicable.

Josh